Our Board

Michele Salters Williams has over twenty-five years experience in providing services to vulnerable populations, including persons with disabilities, individuals and families experiencing homelessness and low-income communities.  She is an expert in program development and implementation as well as Continuum of Care Management.   

As founder of Michele S. Williams, LLC, Michele has leveraged her expertise as a leader in the nonprofit and government sectors to create a firm uniquely designed to meet the needs of nonprofit organizations. Her focus is on crisis management and solutions, increasing capacity for organizations, supporting diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, and building the skills and confidence of staff.

Michele holds a B.S.W in Social Work and a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Leadership and Administration from Western Michigan University. Michele is a Standards for Excellence^® Licensed Consultant and Board Source certified to work with nonprofit organizations across the country interested in learning about and implementing the Standards for Excellence code.  Michele is also a 2014 alumnus of the Masters Series for Distinguished Leaders in Washington, DC. 

David Dirks is a staunch advocate for racial and economic justice issues with technical knowledge of federal homelessness programs, from compliance to system and program design.

David serves as Directing Attorney on Homebase’s Federal HUD technical assistance team, providing trainings, technical assistance, and support in evaluating and addressing community needs and goals according to evidence-based best practices to address homelessness. He also serves as the Strategy Lead for the Racial Equity Action and Coordination Team and serves on the national HUD Equity TA Committee.

David holds expertise in a wide range of housing programs and funding sources. He is a skilled facilitator, bringing together communities and cross-sector stakeholders to build consensus around strategic approaches to equitably address homelessness. David also serves as a volunteer attorney with the Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland, providing legal counsel to clients through the Tenant Volunteer Lawyer of the Day program and the Consumer Protection Project. David is a native of Los Angeles, CA, and holds a BS in Business Marketing from Grambling State University of Louisiana and a JD from Howard University School of Law.

Mitchell Fulton retired from the Federal government in 2019 after a 36 year civil service career with the Department of the Navy in Financial Management. His involvement with Friendship Place began in June 2015 as the congregational representative and board member for Church of the Pilgrims Presbyterian Church. Mitch has served as board Vice-chair and Chair from from 2016-2021. He currently serves as board member and officer (Immediate Past Chair) and also serves on the Executive Committee, the Finance Committee and the Congregations Committee.

Bob Adler has been a member of the Board since September 2021. He is currently Treasurer, Chair of the Finance Committee and a member of the Development and Audit Committees. He settled in Washington DC with his late wife in 2018. Before that he was at the law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP in Los Angeles for 33 years until 2008, eventually becoming managing partner. Subsequently, he was named Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Edison International, one of the country’s largest utility holding companies, retiring in 2014. He has served in a number of philanthropic roles in Southern California, including Chair or Vice Chair of The Claremont Colleges, Southern California Public Radio, The Webb Schools, and LA County Law Library Friends, and a Board member of several other organizations. Bob’s two children and their families, including four grandchildren, reside in the DC area.

Richard is a UK-qualified Chartered Accountant who has over thirty years of experience as an accountant, almost equally shared between commercial businesses (KPMG, SmithKline Beecham) and Non-Profits (ActionAid International, Saferworld, Invisible Children). He has focused on International businesses and has experience in a range of accounting roles from audit, operations consultant, IT systems change, controller, as well as CFO experience in the UK and US. As well as his accounting qualification, he is a member of the UK-based Treasury body (AMCT) and holds a law degree from Leicester University in the UK.

In his various voluntary roles, Richard has served on the Boards of UK-based charities working with inner-city communities, nursery provision, travelers and learning-disabled adults. His housing interest started after college, working with London’s homeless with The Simon Community, followed by a Housing Officer role with a local government London-based body. He also was a member of the Board and Chair of the Audit Committee for Rosebery Housing Association, a south London Housing Association.

Richard moved with his family to DC in 2018 and lives in North West DC.